Optical fiber connectors are an integral part of optical fiber communication systems, and are used for terminating an optical transmission component such as an optical fiber of a fiber optic cable. Optical fiber connectors are widely used for providing a mating/unmating connection point in optical networks, connecting different optical fibers, and terminating optical fibers for optical connection with other devices, such as closures, multiports, optical transmitters, receivers, isolators, attenuators, amplifiers, power meters, and detectors. When terminating a fiber optic cable with a fiber optic connector, the fiber optic cable should be secured to the fiber optic connector in a suitable manner to withstand pulling and side-load forces that may be experienced during installation and use. Moreover, the termination process should be relatively quick, easy and cost-effective.
Fiber optic connectors may be designed for terminating one specific fiber optic cable design and consequently may not be easily adapted for terminating other fiber optic cable designs. For instance, fiber optic cable designs may have different cross-sectional shapes, cross-sectional dimensions and/or materials, and a fiber optic connector intended for a specific cable design may not be easily adapted for others. Even different fiber optic cables of the same design can have manufacturing variations that render it difficult to terminate that cable design with certain connectors. Moreover, customers may want to use a specific fiber optic connector for their network, but in combination with a cable design that differs from the cable designed for use with their favored connector.